Big 3 QBs Must Face Big, Bad History
http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/26/big-3-qbs-must-face-big-bad-history/
There is one question Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy could not have pondered when they were being recruited.
Which college will best prepare you for an NFL career?
Florida, Oklahoma, Texas or Portland State?
If history had been their guide, they would have high-tailed it to Great Northwest. Not so much to become a mighty Viking, but just to avoid being a Gator, Sooner or Longhorn.
Going to Gainesville, Norman or Austin is a ticket to a fine career in real estate or pharmaceutical sales. As for pro football, you might as well go to Augustana College.
Ken Anderson did, which made him even more obscure than Neil Lomax at Portland State. Both became far more accomplished NFL quarterbacks than (almost) anybody who ever came out of the three programs currently atop the AP poll.
What are the chances America's best three quarterbacks would play for the worst three schools at producing pros?
"When you think about it, it is a little odd," Shane Matthews said.
He is probably the greatest Gator quarterback in NFL history, which shows just how odd it is. The three schools have 13 AP national champions and 10 Heisman trophy winners. They produced players like Emmitt Smith, Lee Roy Selmon, Earl Campbell, Jack Youngblood and Tommy Nobis.
Quarterbacks?
The bust in Canton would be a bust.
Steve Spurrier, Jason White, John Reaves, Chris Simms, Jack Mildren, Danny Weurffel. It's a long and winding trail that now leads to the biggest bust of all, Vince Young.
There are many reasons, some even valid. But the body of poor work is so accomplished it goes beyond rational explanation and enters the realm of the jinx-dom.
Paging Bobby Layne.
He is the only Texas quarterback to make it big in the NFL, and that was more than a half-century ago. Legend has it that when Detroit traded him to Pittsburgh in 1958, Layne said the Lions would "not win for 50 years."
The Bobby Layne Curse was born. There's no evidence he also said, "Every quarterback from Texas, Oklahoma and Florida will have a weenie arm," but you have to wonder. This is probably the greatest three-team QB jinx in football history.
"We haven't had a guy put together like the NFL wants," said Matthews, who hung around NFL sidelines for 14 seasons.
That's one explanation. Weurffel and White and James Street and Kerwin Bell didn't so much underachieve after college. Their passing arms and running legs were simply overmatched.
They were also products of some great offensive systems. Great for college, anyway.
Being a wishbone wizard just made Jamelle Holieway a fine safety prospect in the NFL. The most accomplished Sooner quarterback is probably J.C. Watts, but only if appearances on Fox News as a former Congressman are factored in.
(And no, Troy Aikman doesn't count as an Oklahoma quarterback despite his one year in Norman).
The most accomplished Florida quarterback in the NFL is Cris Collinsworth. Problem is he switched to wide receiver as a freshman and threw one pass as a pro. It was intercepted.
The lack of NFL skills and preparation explains only so much. What accounts for the poor-to-middlin' careers of Spurrier, Reaves, Simms and even Rex Grossman? They had the ability but lacked something.
Coaching? Luck? Football IQ?
"The NFL couldn't care less what you did in college," Matthews said.
Well, yes and no. A Heisman trophy and $66 will get you a 12-pack of beer at Texas Stadium. But scouts are impressed when a player singlehandedly beats USC.
So what happened to Young?
"You have to be able to throw in the NFL," Matthews said.
Or at least throw it to the right team.
Now that Young looks like the second coming of Tim Couch, our eyes turn to this year's promising trifecta. Bradford would probably be the No. 1 pick if the draft were held today. McCoy looks like another Drew Brees. Tebow will be one of the most intriguing prospects in NFL history.
"He's a winner, a playmaker, not a prototypical guy with his arm and in that system," Matthews said. "That makes him hard to evaluate."
Urban Meyer's system also produced Alex Smith. At least we can't blame that one on Bobby Layne.
The Big Three QBs don't believe in curses. If they did, they certainly wouldn't be where they are now.
For the sake of rational explanation, here's hoping one of them breaks the 50-year NFL drought. Failing that, here's wishing them continued success this season.
If history holds, it will be the last one they enjoy.
http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/26/big-3-qbs-must-face-big-bad-history/
There is one question Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy could not have pondered when they were being recruited.
Which college will best prepare you for an NFL career?
Florida, Oklahoma, Texas or Portland State?
If history had been their guide, they would have high-tailed it to Great Northwest. Not so much to become a mighty Viking, but just to avoid being a Gator, Sooner or Longhorn.
Going to Gainesville, Norman or Austin is a ticket to a fine career in real estate or pharmaceutical sales. As for pro football, you might as well go to Augustana College.
Ken Anderson did, which made him even more obscure than Neil Lomax at Portland State. Both became far more accomplished NFL quarterbacks than (almost) anybody who ever came out of the three programs currently atop the AP poll.
What are the chances America's best three quarterbacks would play for the worst three schools at producing pros?
"When you think about it, it is a little odd," Shane Matthews said.
He is probably the greatest Gator quarterback in NFL history, which shows just how odd it is. The three schools have 13 AP national champions and 10 Heisman trophy winners. They produced players like Emmitt Smith, Lee Roy Selmon, Earl Campbell, Jack Youngblood and Tommy Nobis.
Quarterbacks?
The bust in Canton would be a bust.
Steve Spurrier, Jason White, John Reaves, Chris Simms, Jack Mildren, Danny Weurffel. It's a long and winding trail that now leads to the biggest bust of all, Vince Young.
There are many reasons, some even valid. But the body of poor work is so accomplished it goes beyond rational explanation and enters the realm of the jinx-dom.
Paging Bobby Layne.
He is the only Texas quarterback to make it big in the NFL, and that was more than a half-century ago. Legend has it that when Detroit traded him to Pittsburgh in 1958, Layne said the Lions would "not win for 50 years."
The Bobby Layne Curse was born. There's no evidence he also said, "Every quarterback from Texas, Oklahoma and Florida will have a weenie arm," but you have to wonder. This is probably the greatest three-team QB jinx in football history.
"We haven't had a guy put together like the NFL wants," said Matthews, who hung around NFL sidelines for 14 seasons.
That's one explanation. Weurffel and White and James Street and Kerwin Bell didn't so much underachieve after college. Their passing arms and running legs were simply overmatched.
They were also products of some great offensive systems. Great for college, anyway.
Being a wishbone wizard just made Jamelle Holieway a fine safety prospect in the NFL. The most accomplished Sooner quarterback is probably J.C. Watts, but only if appearances on Fox News as a former Congressman are factored in.
(And no, Troy Aikman doesn't count as an Oklahoma quarterback despite his one year in Norman).
The most accomplished Florida quarterback in the NFL is Cris Collinsworth. Problem is he switched to wide receiver as a freshman and threw one pass as a pro. It was intercepted.
The lack of NFL skills and preparation explains only so much. What accounts for the poor-to-middlin' careers of Spurrier, Reaves, Simms and even Rex Grossman? They had the ability but lacked something.
Coaching? Luck? Football IQ?
"The NFL couldn't care less what you did in college," Matthews said.
Well, yes and no. A Heisman trophy and $66 will get you a 12-pack of beer at Texas Stadium. But scouts are impressed when a player singlehandedly beats USC.
So what happened to Young?
"You have to be able to throw in the NFL," Matthews said.
Or at least throw it to the right team.
Now that Young looks like the second coming of Tim Couch, our eyes turn to this year's promising trifecta. Bradford would probably be the No. 1 pick if the draft were held today. McCoy looks like another Drew Brees. Tebow will be one of the most intriguing prospects in NFL history.
"He's a winner, a playmaker, not a prototypical guy with his arm and in that system," Matthews said. "That makes him hard to evaluate."
Urban Meyer's system also produced Alex Smith. At least we can't blame that one on Bobby Layne.
The Big Three QBs don't believe in curses. If they did, they certainly wouldn't be where they are now.
For the sake of rational explanation, here's hoping one of them breaks the 50-year NFL drought. Failing that, here's wishing them continued success this season.
If history holds, it will be the last one they enjoy.
